“Public law of national defense” by J.-C. Vidalin

(BRUXELLES2) Works on defense law are rare enough to be reported and commented on (since Bernard Chantebout's "defence law"... in 1972). The author - who is a lecturer in public law at the University of Grenoble and teaches as part of the Master 2 "International Security and Defense" - covers the subject, from state means of defense to its agents, passing by the constitutional organization and the administrative organization, the technical means and the system of responsibility.

A law where Europe has little influence.

The law of defense is still strongly inclined to the exercise of sovereign jurisdiction and European law has relatively little influence there. " Even if they do not exclude provisions relating to national defence, the European treaties cannot be considered as treaties constituting military legal obligations. he explains. If since 1992 and the Maastricht Treaty, " the member states draw the contours of a common foreign and security policy (...) all of these provisions do not constitute a European military alliance ". Two exceptions can however be noted which "have undermined the principle of Community incompetence in military matters »: access to certain military jobs is subject to the principle of equality imposed by Community law, the opening of public defense contracts.

NB: the author does not however take into account the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon which slightly changes the situation, in my view, by introducing solidarity clauses.

A prerogative of the President of the Republic.

Interesting passage (in my opinion), that of the relationship between the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister within the framework of the Fifth Republic. It is thus clear that even if the term "reserved area" does not exist legally, the President of the Republic, formally, "Chief of the Armed Forces" exercises this magistracy politically, in particular through his particular General Staff. and the various links that are created between it and the General Staff of the armies. In this, France is an exception in Europe. In most other countries, the Prime Minister exercises this power. The only resemblance being... in the United States.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

• "Public law of national defense" by Jean-Christophe Videlin (Bruylant 2009 editions, 316 pages, 60 euros).